The film provides an intimate look at the devastating impact SPS has had on Dion's life and career to raise awareness of the little-known condition. Photo: Amazon
By Chris Tse*
In the 1990s, Celine Dion was unstoppable. She'd transitioned from being a child star in her native Quebec by winning Eurovision (representing Switzerland) and established herself as the queen of power ballads with her instantly recognisable voice.
Despite her staggering commercial success and popularity, Dion has been the subject of ridicule for her over-the-top musical output and mannerisms. Critics have dismissed her work as being impersonal or overproduced and providing little insight into who Celine Dion is as a person.
I Am: Celine Dion is a feature-length documentary film that sheds light on the last few years of the Canadian chanteuse's life, focusing on her diagnosis of stiff-person syndrome (SPS), a neurological disorder that affects about one in a million people. Rather than telling the story of how she became a global superstar, the film provides an intimate look at the devastating impact SPS has had on Dion's life and career to raise awareness of the little-known condition.
Five biggest takeaways from I Am: Celine Dion
Hiding the cracks
Dion's SPS diagnosis in 2022 came as a surprise to fans, but the film reveals it was the culmination of about 17 years of unexplained health issues which started with spasming in her vocal chords and eventually affected her ability to belt out high notes. Dion discusses the increasingly dangerous levels of medication she took to get by ("the show must go on") as well as some of the things she did during performances to hide the deterioration in her voice, like tapping her microphone to suggest it was a technical issue or pointing her microphone at the crowd so she could take a moment to gather herself. For someone who claims to be "an open book", this is clearly difficult for Dion to admit: "The lie is too heavy now."
Life at home
Shows like MTV's Cribs and Architectural Digest's celebrity home tours videos have fuelled our fascination with what famous homes look like. I Am: Celine Dion doesn't disappoint in this regard: we're treated to glimpses of Dion's impressive shoe closet and modern art collection, as well as curiosities like her kitchen drawer devoted to Sharpie pens and a very well organised sock collection that would make Marie Kondo happy.
A still from I am Celine Dion. Photo: Amazon
Area 51 who?
Nevada is home to Area 51, the secretive military facility that many believe is where the US government stores alien spaceships and other highly classified technology. After watching this film, Dion's fans might be more interested in the location of another secret facility in the area: her personal archive. In the film, Dion gives us a tour of a warehouse filled with bespoke garments, show costumes, memorabilia and family heirlooms. Suitcases are piled from floor to ceiling, and clothes racks and shoe boxes line every wall. The collection is symbolic of Dion's sentimental tendencies, saying that everything she has kept holds a special meaning: "They were important. They're still important. They will live on."
I am an apple tree
In a film filled with poignant moments, perhaps one of the most moving is when Dion uses the metaphor of an apple tree to describe the crossroads she's at and the future she might have to accept. In a segment about the support of her fans, Dion says she is like an apple tree that people line up at to gather fruit. However, since her health troubles began her branches have begun to droop and she can no longer produce as many apples as she used to even though people are still lining up. "I don't want people to line up for something I can't give them." Dion is torn between rewarding her fans for their years-long support and accepting that she might not be in a position to keep doing so.
Losing control
Throughout the film, we see how SPS has affected Dion's body and her ability to move, especially when compared to footage of her athletic and energetic stage presence. A distressing scene of her having a seizure highlights just how severe SPS can be and how reliant she is on having a team to support her. Her frustrations are clear in a scene of her struggling to record a song for the first time in two years and not knowing how her voice will hold up. The film's unanswered question is whether Dion will ever regain her voice or be able to withstand performing live. It ends with footage of a young Dion stepping onto a stage and looking out at an empty auditorium that will soon be filled with thousands of adoring fans. No one knows what the future will hold for Dion, but the film is clear that she's not giving up on hearing the rush of that crowd once more.
I Am: Celine Dion is now showing on Prime Video.
*Chris Tse is Aotearoa's 13th Poet Laureate and a massive Celine Dion fan.
